A Christmas Wish
by blue artemis
Summary: Harry is left alone at Hogwarts for the holidays following the War


Harry was worried. He was alone at Hogwarts. Ron and Ginny had gone home to the Burrow. The romances that everyone thought would be going strong had fizzled rather quickly, but luckily for everyone involved the break-ups were as painless as things like that could be. Harry didn't feel right being there the entire winter break, though, so he had turned down their generous offer. He would be going on Christmas Day, though, and staying through Boxing Day.

Hermione had gone to see her parents, and wasn't sure when she would return. He was hoping tonight, because, well, he wouldn't be able to sleep otherwise.

The war had changed them all. But the biggest thing for Harry, after all those months on the run, was that he could not sleep alone. All the "eighth years" had their own rooms, so it was easy for Harry to spend the night with Ron or Hermione, or both, as it so often was. They had gotten used to each other while camping, even though nothing sexual had occurred. When one of them wasn't available, Harry would cuddle up with Luna or Ginny, or both, as it happened once. That night was memorable, and had led to his and Ginny's amicable breakup, but he wasn't going to think about that now.

What he was thinking about was that there was no one he trusted enough to spend the night with, and he was afraid he'd bring the castle down with his screams if he was left alone to his nightmares.

He looked up at the sky and said, "Well, whoever is out there, please grant me my wish. I really would like to have friends around this Christmas, because they want to be, not because they feel obligated by our history."

He finished speaking, and then shook his head. It wasn't as though any of his wishes were ever granted, especially those for Christmas.

With that rather morose thought, Harry headed down to the Great Hall to see who had stayed for the winter break.

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When he got there, the Christmas and Yule decorations were up, making everything seem a bit warmer. Harry smiled to himself, he hadn't been sure if Headmaster Snape would allow the regular decorations, but he was glad he had.

He also saw that the four house tables were gone; in their place were two small round tables. At the first table, the sixteen first through fourth years were all talking animatedly to each other. At the second, Harry found Pansy Parkinson and Draco Malfoy speaking quietly. They both got quiet the moment Harry walked up.

"Do you mind if I sit here?" asked Harry.

The two Slytherins looked at each other, and then turned back to Harry.

"No, of course not, Potter. Sit," said Draco.

"Please, call me Harry. I'm tired of being Potter all the time," responded Harry.

"Are you sure? We don't want to cause you any problems with your friends," queried Pansy.

"I'm sure. Ron and Ginny are rather caught up in their new romances, and Hermione won't mind one bit," said Harry.

The Slytherins nodded then sat quietly.

The food arrived, steaming hot potato leek soup with cream in it, brisket sandwiches with horseradish and some nice peas and carrots. It was warm and filling and tasted really good. The three senior students were eating when all of a sudden Pansy put her spoon down.

"Why are you being nice? Are you planning something? Aren't you angry at me for what I did in the Great Hall? Do you want to get even? I haven't been able to sleep thinking we would be here with you and you would be able to do what you wanted to us!" Pansy burst out quickly.

Harry looked at her. Then he looked at Draco, who shrugged.

"I'd like to think I am nice. I'm not planning anything, except, well, never mind. No, I'm not angry. You were scared, and you had no reason to know that Voldemort was lying through his teeth. Why would I want to get even? You didn't actually do anything. And you aren't the only one who can't sleep." Harry ticked off every answer on his fingers. "Did I get all of them?"

Draco made a choked sound that sounded like it wanted to be a laugh.

Pansy looked at Harry wonderingly. "Truly? You aren't angry?"

Harry sighed. He and Hermione had been reading up on pureblood interactions, and he realized that he would have to put his reading into practice. He stood up, walked around the table to where Pansy was, took her hand, and said "I Harry James Potter wish for you to know that I do not hold your actions against me, Pansy Parkinson. I have no wish for revenge, and if you need it, I forgive you for your actions in the Great Hall during the final battle."

Draco looked like someone had punched him in the stomach. "Pot… Harry, what about me? Do you think you could forgive me?" The last was almost whispered, Draco's voice harsh and scratchy.

For some reason, this relaxed Harry. He walked over to Draco, and held his hand up to him, palm up. Draco placed his hand over Harry's. Harry then said "I forgive you, Draco Malfoy. We were children, and behaved as such. When it counted, you tried the best you could under the circumstances to do what you could to prevent my death." After a small pause, Harry took his hand back, took a deep breath and did something that everyone in the hall would later claim made the walls of the castle glow with pleasure.

He held his hand out and said "Hello, I'm Harry Potter, it would be nice if we could be friends."

Draco looked at Harry's hand, then up to his face, then back to Pansy, then back to Harry's hand. The pause started to get too long, and when Harry started to move away, thinking that what he had just done was too much, Draco jumped up and took his hand. "Hello, Harry Potter. I'm Draco Malfoy, and I would like that very much."

Had anyone looked at the headmaster at that moment, they would have seen tears in his eyes, although he would deny it, and hex anyone who insisted differently.

Minerva, Pomona and Filius had no problem showing their emotions, though, and were weeping happily into their handkerchiefs.

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It was amazing how quickly sixteen owls found their way out of the Owlery, spreading the news of Harry's reconciliation with Draco within minutes of breakfast being over.

One even made its way to the Burrow, the contents surprising the Weasleys, and yet, it seemed right. Shortly after that, the headmaster's floo flared and Ron Weasley asked for permission to come through. He found Harry in the common room, studying.

"Are you a pod person? You are studying and you made up with Malfoy," remarked Ron.

Harry looked up at him. "Nah. I just figure we all need to grow up some time. And if we treat the snakes badly, then everyone will, and things won't ever change. Hey, how do you know about pod people?"

Ron ignored the pod person question, thought about the rest of what Harry said for a while, and grinned. "Well, maybe he will be a bigger challenge at chess than you are!"

"I think that would be a given. Crookshanks is probably a bigger challenge at chess than I am!" Both boys laughed uproariously at that.

Pansy and Draco were walking by, when they heard the laughter through the open door of Harry's room. Pansy tears started to well in Pansy's eyes and she began to move faster, then Draco put his hand on her arm to stop her.

"Pans, they are Gryffindors. They would not be laughing at us with the door open, they would try to be sneaky and fail miserably. Let's go find out what is going on."

"Draco, they aren't going to want us intruding," responded Pansy.

"He said he wanted to be friends, right? Well, then we will see if he meant it!" That said, Draco turned toward Harry's door, and rapped on the open frame.

"Come in!" called out Harry.

Draco turned to Pansy as if to say I told you so, and she rolled her eyes at him. The two Slytherins walked in the door cautiously.

"Oh, good, you are here. I want to introduce you to one of my best friends. Draco Malfoy, Pansy Parkinson, this is Ron Weasley." Harry did a formal introduction, continuing the actions he had taken earlier in the Great Hall.

Ron held out his hand, first to Pansy, who shook it tentatively, then to Draco. Draco looked somewhat surprised, but was willing to go along with the whole thing.

"Do you play chess?" asked Ron.

"Yes, and quite well," responded Draco.

"Excellent. Let's play!"

The two young men set up the chess board and began a rather intense game. Pansy looked over at Harry, and went to sit next to him.

"So, how did you know what to do in the Hall? I was very surprised when you used the forgiveness rite," said Pansy.

"I've been studying up on pureblood rituals because one night Hermione, Ron and I were talking, and Ron said something about the fact that Dumbledore could have never gotten away with treating me like he did if there were any Potters around, because no matter what they would not have allowed a magical child to be treated like a weapon or a slave or so many other things as long as they weren't degenerates, because tradition and family magic wouldn't have allowed it. So I wanted to see for myself what he meant, and I discovered that there are all these traditions and rites and rituals meant to ease the way between magical beings that have been ignored or perverted, mainly because Dumbledore needed his way free to do what he wanted. He and Grindewald were truly two of a kind. I think we need to bring back the meaningful traditions and teach the newly-magical what they need to know. That was part of the argument between Slytherin and Gryffindor, you know." Harry had unknowingly gone into lecture mode, but Pansy didn't mind at all, since this was one of the most interesting things she had heard in a long time.

"What do you mean 'part of the argument between Slytherin and Gryffindor?'" she asked.

"Slytherin wanted Muggle-borns educated separately for a couple of years so that they would understand the traditions of the pure-bloods, and Gryffindor thought it was unnecessary. He liked outside influences, rather like Dumbledore. Slytherin also wasn't a purist like everyone believes, but since he left, he couldn't write history," responded Harry.

"How do you know this?" asked Draco, and beside him, Ron nodded.

"Oh, I went back down into the Chamber of Secrets, and I found Slytherin's library. In it is a portrait of him, painted back when he was still an active part of the school. He's a lot of fun to talk to. Of course, he only speaks Parseltongue," explained Harry.

"I thought you couldn't do that anymore," said Ron.

"Oh, I can't speak it any better than you can, and I reckon you have me beat there, but I somehow can still understand it. He doesn't mind me responding in English, as long as he can speak in Parseltongue." Harry smiled at Ron, remembering how he and Hermione got the basilisk fangs from the Chamber during the battle.

"Can I see the library?" Draco and Pansy asked in stereo.

"You have to ask Snape. He is already planning a visit there," said Harry.

"How is it that you can still get in there?" asked Ron.

"Slytherin's portrait reset the password to my control. I'm not sure how he did it, but he's tied into the castle somehow. So, I'm in charge of his chamber."

Draco and Pansy started to discuss asking the headmaster if they could accompany him on his excursion into the chamber when they overheard something interesting.

"Do you need me to stay, Harry?" asked Ron quietly.

"No, you go home. I'm sure that I will be OK. You were going to Tracey's tonight anyway, weren't you?"

"Yeah, but she'd understand, mate. She was in my room a few weeks ago. I thought of asking her to join us, but I thought that would weird you out."

"Nah. Go on; spend time with your girl. I will figure something out," responded Harry finally.

Pansy and Draco looked at each other questioningly, and decided to wait until Ron left.

As soon as the door closed, Draco commented "I didn't know that you and Ron were intimate. Did I miss something somewhere?"

"Intimate?" asked Harry.

"He asked if he should stay. He said he was thinking of having Tracey join you two. What am I supposed to think? Do you require sex from all your friends?" Draco was confused and didn't like it.

"Sex?" asked Harry.

"Yes, sex. I want to know what I'm getting into," answered Draco.

Harry was about to lose his temper, when he thought over what was said, and what could be taken from the conversation. He then realized that his new friends would have to be taken into his confidence.

"No, Draco. Not sex. I would never expect that from anyone. Remember at lunch when I told Pansy that she wasn't the only one who couldn't sleep?"

Draco and Pansy both nodded.

Harry continued, "I have really horrible nightmares. But if someone is with me, I can sleep. Ron and Hermione usually take turns. There are a few others who will, but no one is in the castle right now. So if you think that makes me weak and want to not be friends, that is fine, but you cannot tell anyone about this."

"Which side of the bed do you like, Harry?" asked Pansy.

"Really?"

"Yes, really. I will come back and stay with you."

"You don't have to, Pansy. I know that even the appearance of impropriety is not good for you. I would never ask," responded Harry.

"You didn't ask, I offered. You could have done so many things to us, and you didn't. So, if you need a friend here at night, then here I will be."

The smile she got in return from Harry was blinding in its brilliance.

"Thank you. Thank you so much."

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Draco, Harry and Pansy spent the rest of the day together, talking and joking, and on occasion, just being quiet together. The boys had settled that they were going to play seeker's tag when the snow let up; Pansy had questioned Harry very seriously about Hermione, asking question after question until she was satisfied.

"Hey, Harry!"

"Yes, Draco?"

"Did you really break up with Ginny because you caught her in bed with Finnegan?"

Harry laughed.

"No."

"No?"

"No."

"Oh, come on, aren't you going to tell us what happened?"

"No."

"No?"

"No."

Pansy had been sitting there, thinking to herself that it was a bit like watching a tennis match, when she decided to put a stop to it. She gathered herself up and pounced on Harry, tickling him mercilessly. He grabbed hold of her, and rolled her under him, tickling back, when Draco decided that he was feeling left out and joined in. They rolled off the bed onto the floor with a loud thump. They lay there breathless with laughter, enjoying themselves and each other with an innocence none of them had felt in years.

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They had been on the floor for a few minutes when Harry started speaking.

"She and Luna were staying with me one night, and things got a bit heated. It was a whole lot of fun, but when it was over, they realized that they enjoyed being with each other a bit more than they enjoyed being with me. We are still friends, and they occasionally want a bit more, but that is why we broke up. Seamus thinks he knows something and keeps trying to get them in bed with him, but they won't do it. They said they would only be with someone they trust."

Draco and Pansy looked a bit wide-eyed at the explanation. "And they say Slytherins are kinky. You just accepted that with no problem. And I'm guessing you aren't the only boy they have decided to be with!" declared Pansy.

"I don't want you thinking badly of them," said Harry, starting to get cross.

"Not at all. But I'm starting to wonder who they trust…" Pansy trailed off when she realized Harry was looking at her oddly.

"Look, I know you are starting to understand pure-blood traditions, but that only means no penetrative sex. There are whole worlds of things you can do, but it has to be with someone you trust," explained Pansy.

Harry nodded at her.

"I get it, but you will have to ask the girls. I won't break their confidence like that."

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Harry got ready for bed that night in a wonderful mood. He had new friends, Ron was OK with it, and they had a wonderful day. It reminded him of that first holiday break he had spent at Hogwarts, full of fun and wonder. He put his glasses on the side table, got in the bed, and snuggled under the warm blankets, thinking to himself that even if Pansy did not come over as promised, he had a good enough day that hopefully he would not have nightmares.

He had just started to doze off when he heard soft footsteps in his room. He waited to see what would happen, when the covers were pulled back, and Pansy slipped into the bed in front of him, and Draco slipped in behind him.

The three of them fell asleep. In the morning, each would think that was one of the most restful nights they had spent in a while.

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The first week of winter break passed quickly; Harry was often seen with Pansy and Draco, sometimes Ron would come through from the Burrow, once it was Ginny and Luna, although that visit was spent as a girl's day, and Harry and Draco were told to entertain themselves. No one would believe the girls when they said they found Harry, Draco, Headmaster Snape and Argus Filch playing a game of what looked like ice hockey, in a forgotten ballroom, on a waxed floor, in their socks.

Christmas Eve found all 19 students and what staff was left embroiled in a snowball fight. It was again, one of those momentous occasions that no one who had not witnessed it, would ever believe.

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That night, in the deepest quiet of the old castle, Hermione arrived, and headed straight for Harry's room. When she got there, she walked straight to his bathroom to get ready for bed. She hadn't even looked toward it, really. She came out, dressed in her nice flannel pajamas and went to the bed. She was a bit startled to see Pansy, Harry and Draco all spooned together. She was even more startled when the bedcovers on Draco's side of the bed were lifted and a soft voice said "Come on, Granger, get in before we all get cold."

She did as she was told, and snuggled between Harry and Draco. She leaned up to Harry and whispered in his ear.

"What is going on, Harry?"

"I got my Christmas Wish, Hermione. I really and truly did."

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Christmas at the Burrow was chaotic as usual. If a person was unaware of the history of the people there, no one would it strange to see the cute little brunette sitting on Harry Potter's lap, or the curly-haired witch on the lap of the blonde sitting next to him. But for those in the know, it was a balm to the soul. And to think that it came from the smallest of Christmas wishes.


End file.
